Morning Markets: Insurers take shine off FTSE

London's FTSE 100 index stalled this morning after reaching its highest point for almost seven months on Thursday.

The index of UK blue chip firms was down 3.3 points to 4,628.3 in early trade, led by a sell-off in hedge fund group Man, which fell 4% to 275.8 pence. Other losers included insurance groups Old Mutual and Standard Life, which both fell more than 2%, ahead of first-half earnings reports to be published next week. It is feared that UK insurers will have suffered from soured investments and a sales slowdown as a result of the deteriorating economic environment and market volatility. On the upside, British Airways gained 4.5% after announcing that it would meet its cost-cutting target...